D&D 5E Dungeonscape no more?

[Sword of Spirit]

I think this means that they will be license more, not less. By funding a project they would hurt themselves if they opened up the license to others, now they can license to anyone and let the best software win. It is a win win, I only wish they had done this from the start. Of course this is just speculation, but Fantasy Grounds did visit with WotC a couple weeks ago right? So perhaps this has been in the cards for at least a few weeks.

I can see this as a possibility, though I don't put it in my "I can see this is coming" category. Cool if it happens though.

...of course, the worst case scenario is still pretty bad, and when it comes to Wotc and electronic products, I'm firmly in the "seeing is believing" camp.

I've been really optimistic about 5e, and generally the products have validated my confidence in the designers. But with regards to electronic products, I'm pretty much in the same camp.

If Hasbro thinks that D&D has some value, it needs to have some professional managers - genuine managers with actual executive experience - running D&D. Sure, "suits" are disparaged but it's clear the gamers need some adult supervision.

Look at Google, although there is a monumental difference in scale. The creative guys realised they needed adult supervision - aka proper management - so Eric Schmidt was brought in. Now Hasbro couldn't afford someone of Eric Schmidt's calibre, but I am sure they can afford to hire at least one professional manager for the D&D team.

Okay, I disagree strongly. One of the reasons we are getting what (IMO) is the best version of D&D so far is because the designers appear to have been given control over the process. They are planning to make a version of the game that will last for a long time, and trying to make every product solid and called for. Instead of just churning out a bunch of material of various levels of quality and then ditching the edition when it gets saturated, they are taking a much slower, more researched release angle. I've seen the results in the PHB and the MM, while I can always criticism some of the results, I completely approve of how and why they are going about it. I went into this trusting the designers because of how they were tackling it, and my trust was rewarded with the product I want.

If the suits were in charge, there is no way it would have been as good, and I might not have even ended up buying/using it.

*I'm not some sort of WotC fanboy. Hate 4e and everything it represents (okay, slight exaggeration--I do like a few things it did) and WotC lost a lot of goodwill in my eyes because of it. I just could tell they had learned from it and weren't using the same design and marketing strategy this time around.

 

[Astrosicebear]

I just canceled my DMG pre-order. If and when WotC delivers water-marked PDFs, I'll be back. Until then, it's Pathfinder.

This is the second edition of D&D in a row in which I really like (kudos to the designers), but during which WotC's near-comical bumbling has driven me away as a customer. If they don't turn it around, there won't be a third. Really, did WotC learn nothing from 4E?

*facepalm*

Because phones and tablets arent now the same size as books? I dont understand the desperation and stubbornness here. You said the product was good, but now you wont support it, so you are settling for 2nd best? Sounds like a winning life choice.

 

[TwoSix]

This is the second edition of D&D in a row in which I really like (kudos to the designers), but during which WotC's near-comical bumbling has driven me away as a customer. If they don't turn it around, there won't be a third. Really, did WotC learn nothing from 4E?

To be fair, other than the unfortunate (for multiple reasons) cancellation of the VTT, they had their act together pretty well for about two years, from 2008 until early 2010. The double bomb of the Essentials reboot and the move from a functional desktop application to a comically inept web application was when you really saw the flailing start.

 

[Boarstorm]

Whatever your feelings on Dungeonscape and its usefulness to you personally, I think this cancellation is another black eye for our hobby and its most recognizable game.

 

[Bugleyman]

Because phones and tablets arent now the same size as books? I dont understand the desperation and stubbornness here. You said the product was good, but now you wont support it, so you are settling for 2nd best? Sounds like a winning life choice.

This isn't about my "life choices." Though way to make it personal.

It's about WotC's unwillingness or inability to adapt to market realities. The simple fact is that print. media. is. dying. The choice which companies face is equally simple: Adapt or die with it.

 

[i037]

Shameless plug here, but if you're looking for digital tools for your 5th edition game on iOS, check out d20 Fight Club and d20 Dungeon Master. They aren't official products. They only contain material from the basic rules documents, but they are open and customizable so you can add any material you're able to.

Mod note: I'm really sorry, but the Basic rules are still covered by copyright. You cannot just take their content and republish it, even for free. Unless you can verify that the data files are OGL compliant, I have to kill the links. Again, sorry. ~Umbran

 

[Astrosicebear]

It's about WotC's unwillingness or inability to adapt to market realities. The simple fact is that print. media. is. dying. The choice which companies face is equally simple: Adapt or die with it.

All 4E books were digital. Didnt work out too well for WOTC. They are adapting to THIS industry's market realities.

 

[DMZ2112]

Whatever your feelings on Dungeonscape and its usefulness to you personally, I think this cancellation is another black eye for our hobby and its most recognizable game.

With the caveat that I don't know what's going on any more than anyone else does, I can induce from available evidence that Wizards was making the same observations about Dungeonscape that our own community was making and opted to make a hard choice.

Black eyes heal pretty fast; vestigial limbs require surgery and more often just linger.

 

[wedgeski]

It's about WotC's unwillingness or inability to adapt to market realities. The simple fact is that print. media. is. dying. The choice which companies face is equally simple: Adapt or die with it.

People keep saying this, but those pesky consumers still keep buying the dead trees.

While I might even agree that digital media is in the ascendancy, PDF's are not, and for me never will be, a decent alternative to a thudding great book with (caveat) a decent index.

Now, a fully interactive rules app, that's something else. It might even have been what Dungeonscape was aiming for. PDF's are not it.

 

[Boarstorm]

Black eyes heal pretty fast; vestigial limbs require surgery and more often just linger.

... I'm not sure why you went with vestigial limbs there...

Regardless, I think we can both agree that "being healthy" is by far the best alternative within the confines of the metaphor.